BRINGING PHEASANTS TO THE GUNS 



'TT^HERE are some places in which it would be almost 

 J_ impossible to have pheasants and not have sport. The 

 desire is to shoot pheasants that are difficult up to a certain degree, 

 but no farther. For instance, in a flat country one cannot make 

 the birds fly too high to please sportsmen, and in a hill country 

 it is difficult to prevent them from flying too high. The way 

 pheasants are driven to the guns at Holkham seems to please 

 all shooters, and Lord Leicester's management has always been 

 held up as a model of woodcraft. The park at Holkham is 

 very large, is surrounded by a wall, and contains within its area 

 an arable farm. Around the park inside the wall run coverts, 

 and the first plan of action is to drive the pheasants forward to 

 small elevated woods, and then to place the guns between the 

 birds and their homes. In some places the guns are posted 

 three deep. It is the height of these rising places that makes 

 the shooting there so good. But very much time is saved by 

 the plan adopted by Lord Leicester of not shooting at pheasants 

 until they have been driven into the right spot. This not only 

 saves the time too frequently occupied elsewhere by stopping 

 to look for game as the line should be advancing, but also 

 obviates the necessity of all the ground being hunted over for 

 wounded pheasants the day after the shoot. It is a very clean 

 performance in every way, and anyone who wants to lay out 

 pheasant coverts cannot do better than make a visit of inspec- 

 tion to Holkham, by Lord Leicester's leave. But the laying out 

 of pheasant coverts is like planting a tree. It is true that a tree 

 grows while its planter sleeps, and is therefore economic ; but it 

 is also true that an oak grows when its planter sleeps the long 



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